Dolly Parton Just Inspired the Name of an Adorable Baby Red Panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo
(Smithsonian/Brooke McDonough)
The Smithsonian National Zoo’s adorable baby red panda officially has a name, and it’s one that country music fans will instantly recognize.
After more than 20,000 votes were cast in a public naming contest, the zoo announced that its red panda cub will be called Dolly, a nod to country music icon Dolly Parton and the little animal’s reddish fur.
In an Instagram post announcing the 4-month-old cub’s name, the zoo wrote: “Put your paws together for our newly named red panda cub! With flaming locks of auburn fur and a cuteness that extends beyond the hours of 9 to 5, this little firecracker officially has a name: Dolly!”
Dolly received nearly 65% of the votes, easily beating out the other two names in the running. According to The Washington Post, Pyra, a Greek word meaning “heat,” received 20% of the vote, while Dolpa, a region of Nepal where red pandas live, received 15%.
According to an earlier press release, three red panda cubs were born at the zoo’s Front Royal, Va., conservation campus earlier this summer. Two were born on May 29 to one mother, while Dolly arrived on June 11.
Dolly remains at the conservation campus, but visitors to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., can see another red panda, an adult female named Asa, along the zoo’s Asia Trail.
This story was originally published by Parade on Oct 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: Nature
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